GLAUCOMA

Glaucoma is a definition given to a group of eye pathologies that affects the structure of the optic nerve and also causes a loss of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) in the eye leading to visual impairment. The retinal ganglion cells transmit visual information from the eye to appropriate visual recognition centres of the human brain. An increase in the eye’s intra-ocular pressure (IOP) leads to glaucoma and hence the mainstay of managing glaucoma from a clinical perspective remains in controlling the eye’s IOP. Controlling the IOP can reduce the extent of retinal damage and also the RGC cell loss

Glaucoma globally affects at least over 60 million people worldwide and would affect an estimated 100 million people over the next 25 years. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness. The vision loss through glaucoma is usually irreversible through conventional management strategies

To treat the loss of vision associated with Glaucoma, the aim would be to either restore the flow of aqueous humour through the trabecular meshwork so as to better regulate the IOP of the eye and/or retard the retinal ganglion cell loss or improve the functional capacity of existing cells.

Autologous stem cells from bone marrow, adipose, peripheral blood or allogenic cells from amnion, cord blood, wj, plasma proteins have an unlimited ability to proliferate under the right conditions and can also give rise to almost any cell type. Therapeutic stem cell targets in Glaucoma aims at enhancing the functional recovery of existing retinal ganglion cells and/or protecting the existing cells from further damage. Numerous animal studies have clearly established the neuro-protective effect of stem cells in restoring vision in glaucoma animal models. The eye being an immune privileged site, administration of stem cells is not usually associated with adverse events. The extent of vision recovery however can however vary from patient to patient depending on the severity of the disease and its stage. Administered stem cells usually exhibit beneficial effects by slowing down the degeneration of existing ganglion cells and also by conferring a neuro- modulatory and neuro-protective role. Existing stem cells present in various parts of the human eye are also kick started into action. Benefits observed by the patient are usually due to a combination of the various aforementioned effects. A reduction in IOP and vision improvements are perceived by the patient over a period of time.

• At World Stem Cell Clinic and The Royal British Medical Center we practice “Patient Precision Medicine (PPM)” which is a treatment model that proposes the customization of the treatment to each unique patient based on their medical history, stage of disease, exam results, time available for treatment and a patient orientation meeting with our Doctors before determining the best treatment for each unique patient.

• Our staff physicians are all board certified, in their field with years of experience. Your team includes both primary and ancillary care professionals devoted to maximizing your benefits from the procedures. We enroll you in an open registry to track your changes independently, for up to 5 years.

• To maintain our “Patient Precision Medicine (PPM)” services for you we may use peripheral blood, bone marrow, adipose or umbilical cord derived cells, plasma, proteins and Extracellular Vesicles based your unique treatment needs with mutual agreement.

• As our patient we also keep you abreast of the newest developments in treatment research. This is an ongoing relationship to maintain and enhance your health.

• Our promise is to provide you with travel and lodging support, access to bilingual staff members throughout the entire process and most importantly the best medical care possible.